February  27,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
181 
spikes.  Odontoglossuin  citrosmum  sliould  by  now  be  showing 
its  flower  spikes  on  the  tips  of  the  new  growth,  but  it  must  not 
be  thought  tliat  they  are  not  going  to  flower  if  they  are  not 
sliowing,  for  some  few  plants  in  a  batch  will  always  be  late.  Do 
not  give  a  drop  of  water  until  they  do  show. 
C'alanthes  of  the  Veitchi  and  vestita  groups,  and  the  beautiful 
hybrids  raised  from  them,  will  be  starting  into  growth,  but  it 
doe.s  not  follow  on  this  account  that  they  will  need  much  water. 
ITntil  the  young  shoots  produced  begin  to  push  roots  the  old 
pseudo-bulb  is  quite  capable  of  supplying  all  the  nutriment  they 
want.  In  fact,  it  must  be  patent  to  anyone  that  ivater  poured 
on  the  compost  can  do  no  good ;  the  old  roots  are  all  dead,  no 
young  ones  have  been  formed,  and  until  this  is  the  case  keep  the 
watering-pot  aivay  from  them. 
Thunias,  too,  will  be  showing  signs  of  life  again,  and  must 
be  repotted  and  placed  in  strong  heat.  These  Orchids  enjoy 
.sunshine,  heat,  and  abundant  atmospheric  moisture,  and  they 
must  have  it  if  they  are  going  to  be  satisfacto^.  They  are 
suitable  companions  for  the  deciduous  Dendrobiums,  but  will 
Laelio^Cattleya  X  Queen  Alexandra. 
Liselio-Cattleya  x  ^ueen  Alexandra. 
The  great  feature  of  excellence  in  this  compound  hybrid  is  its 
massively  expansive  labellum,  which  is  most  richly  coloured  with 
ail  tense  crimson-purple  or  ruby-purple,  with  an  orange-coloured 
•disc,  behind  which  there  are  some  reddish  markings  extending 
to  the  base;  but  the  edges  of  the  lip,  especially  in  front,  are 
ililac-lavender  in  hue,  the  whole  texture  being  velvety.  The 
:sepals  and  petals  are  deep  mauve,  and  of  the  form  shown  in  the 
accompanying  illustration  from  a  drawing  by  our  artist,  Mr. 
George  Shayler.  Messrs.  James  Veitch  and  Sons,  Limited,  of 
the  Royal  Exotic  Nursery,  King’s  Road,  Chelsea,  staged  the 
plant  bearing  the  flower  from  which  the  drawing  was  made  at 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  meeting  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
Westminster,  on  February  11.  On  that  occasion  the  Orchid 
Conunitflee  awarded  it  a  First  Class  Certificate.  The  hybrid 
comes  from  the  parentage  L.-C.  x  bella,  x  Trianae. 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes. 
With  the  increasing  light  there  will  be  a  decided  improve¬ 
ment  in  the  condition  of  the  Odontoglossums  and  other  cool 
house  species.  To  allow  them  to  reap  the  full  benefit,  keep  the 
glass  clean  inside  and  out,  and  place  the  plants  on  inverted  pots, 
or  in  some  such  way,  in  order  to  bring  them  as  near  the  glass 
^  possible.  A  little  trouble  in  tliis  respect  is  well  repaid  by  the 
improved  health  of  the  plant  and  increased  number  of  the  flower 
stand  even  more  sun.  The  compost  may  consist  of  loam  and  leaf 
soil,  with  chopped  sphagnum  and  crocks  added.  It  must  not  be 
kept  above  the  rim  of  the  pots,  as  a  lot  of  moisture  is  required 
in  summer,  and  the  base  of  the  old  stems  must  only  be  loosely 
covered. 
Woodlice  and  various  small  insects  are  more  than  usually 
voracious  and  active  at  this  time  of  year,  and  they  must  be 
trapped  in  various  ways,  or  a  number  of  young  shoots  and  flower 
.spikes  will  be  lost.  The  old  plan  of  slicing  off  a  piece  of  potato 
and  laying  it  on  the  compost  is  a  very  good  one  for  most  of  the 
smaller  fry,  while  the  special  traps  aclverti.sed  for  cockroaches 
and  beetles  are  also  useful.  Any  choice  or  rare  specimen  showing 
flower  maybe  isolated  by  placing  on  a  pan  or  pot  in  the  centre 
of  a  vessel  of  water,  carefully  noting  that  no  part  of  the  plant 
forms  a  bridge  that  the  insects  can  pass  over.  Individual  spikes 
may  be  protected  by  nlacing  a  .small  wad  of  cotton  wool  at  the 
base  of  each. — H.  R.  R. 
